NIR-II-Responsive CeO 2- x @HA Nanotheranostics for Photoacoustic Imaging-Guided Sonodynamic-Enhanced Synergistic Phototherapy.

The therapeutic effect of photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) is severely limited because of the shallow tissue penetration depth of the first near-infrared (NIR-I) light. Multifunctional nanotheranostics irradiated by the second near-infrared (NIR-II) light have received wide interest with respect to deeper tissue penetration, and sonodynamic therapy (SDT) synergistic phototherapy can achieve the complete elimination of tumors. Herein, we successfully constructed a single NIR-II light-induced nanotheranostic using cerium oxide (CeO 2- x ) with abundant oxygen vacancies for photoacoustic imaging-guided SDT-enhanced phototherapy for the first time. CeO 2- x with surface crystalline disorder showed extensive NIR-II region absorption and an outstanding photothermal conversion ability. In addition, the CeO 2- x layer with numerous oxygen defects can promote the separation of holes and electrons by ultrasound irradiation, which can remarkably enhance the efficacy of phototherapy to achieve high-efficiency tumor ablation. CeO 2- x was surface modified with hyaluronic acid (HA) to prepare CeO 2- x @HA to allow active tumor targeting efficiency. Both cell and animal experiments confirmed that all-in-one CeO 2- x @HA exhibited a high therapeutic efficacy of SDT-enhanced PDT/PTT under 1064 nm laser irradiation, which achieved complete tumor eradication without systemic toxicity. This study significantly broadened the application of NIR-II-responsive CeO 2- x for photoacoustic imaging-mediated SDT-enhanced phototherapy to the highly efficient and precise elimination of tumors.